For an adventure ride that puts a whole new spin on things and is like nothing you’ve every experienced before, you have to give Zorbing a go.

Zorbing (also known as sphereing) is the sport of rolling down a hill at speed inside a giant inflatable ball. The Zorb is an 11 foot (3.5 metre) high inflatable sphere which you ride inside (a person zorbing is called a zorbonaut). Two feet of air protect you from the ground as you Zorb down the hill at speeds of up to 50 kilometres (31 miles) per hour.

There are two types of zorb rides: harness and hydro. In the harness ride you are securely harnessed inside the Zorb for a wild ride down the hill. Once you start rolling down the hill, you feel a strange sensation of weightlessness and watch the ground and sky go spinning past. The Hydro ride has no harness and water is thrown in so that you (and a friend or two) can slip, slide and spin inside the Zorb all the way down the hill. In winter, warm water is used for a lovely spa-type experience. Its like a cross between a waterside and a rollercoaster.

Zorbing was invented in New Zealand in the early 1990s and first set up in Rotorua on New Zealand’s North Island. Since then Zorb has rolled into England, the mountains of Norway, the middle of Sweden, the Gold Coast in Australia, the alpine hills of Switzerland, to China the USA (Smoky Mountains) and Argentina.

So if your after a crazy, adrenaline-filled adventure ride, try the Zorb experience.

For a truly exciting, spontaneous and liberating experience, hit the road for a road trip with no predetermined destination.

Pack a bag, grab your camera and favorite cd’s or Ipod, pick up your best friend(s) and hit the road to explore new places.

A road trip with no predetermined destination is a great example of that phrase: “It’s not where you’re going but who you’re going with, and how you get there.” Nothing feels better than getting in a car with no plan and just driving. You will learn new things and see new places. You learn amazing things about what is important to you. You learn how to let go. You learn how to be open to newness and strangeness. You learn to trust your instincts. And you will return home with some great stories and a warm little secret feeling about yourself and what you saw.

Tips

• Take plenty of different types of symbols for facebook” title=”music symbols for facebook”>music. Everyone needs a soundtrack to their adventure.
• Stop at all the scenic spots along the way.
• Make sure you take a camera and make plenty of photos to document your adventure.
• You don’t need a lot of money. Sleep in your car, make phone calls to friends that live in the area, make friends in the area, or take a tent! Camping is free or very cheap.
• Stop along the way and talk to the locals.
• Get off the highways and take the back roads and detours.
• Pack your sense of adventure, be open to anything and have fun. You have no schedule, you have no obligations, you have no limitations. This is your chance to just wander.

Whether you go for just a weekend or a couple of a weeks, a road trip with no set destination is a fantastic experience which you wont forget. Get out there and start driving!

If your into martial arts consider enrolling in Asia’s ultimate boot camp at Deng Feng, China’s Kung Fu capital and home of the famous Shaolin monks. The Shaolin Temple in Henan, known in the martial arts world as the birthplace of kung fu and home to the famed “fighting monks,” welcomes foreigners to train in its martial arts classes.

There are around 50 schools in the Shaolin and Deng Feng area with thousands of students training from dawn to dusk. The largest school, Tagou, has 10,000 students. The Shaolin Monastery Wushu Institute at Tagou is foreigner-friendly, with an English-speaking office that can help to arrange travel, lodging, and training. They provide a serious course in one of the most serious martial art forms out there, Shaolin-style fighting. This form of fighting began over a thousand years ago with the monks of the Shaolin Temple. You can train at the Shaolin Temple for a few weeks or a few years. Some children start as young as six years old, most hoping to be the next Hong Kong martial arts movie star!

The Shaolin way of life is spiritual and regimented and a training session gives you a whole new respect for this intense discipline. If you’re not up to the physical demands of trying Kung Fu yourself, the demonstrations by the Shaolin monks are amazing. They leap into the air, balance on blades, break bricks and pretty much defy anything you’ve thought was humanly impossible.